Many people today are highly concerned with their outward appearance. Television, movies, and other communication media promote an attractive outward appearance as desirable. Authors and consultants earn large incomes advising people how to make themselves look better. One feature of the outward appearance considered important by many is the appearance of the hair.
Evidence of this importance can be seen in the amount of money spent each year by advertisers and consumers on shampoos, conditioners, blow dryers, curling irons, hair restoration treatments, and the like.
A common technique used to impart an attractive appearance to the hair is the simultaneous use of a styling brush and blow dryer after shampooing. While the subject""s hair is wet, the subject""s hair is grasped by the styling brush close to the scalp, and then the styling brush is rotated to expose the hair to the stream of hot air from the blow dryer. The hair then is released when dry. This technique is repeated on other areas of the subject""s head until all of the subject""s hair is dry. The technique produces a curl which adds an appearance of thickness and volume to the hair. This appearance is known colloquially as xe2x80x9cbody,xe2x80x9d and is considered quite attractive by many people.
Another common technique used to impart an attractive appearance to the hair is a technique known in the art as teasing. After the subject""s hair is dry, the user grasps a small amount of the subject""s hair with one hand and hold it away from the subject""s scalp. Using a brush or a teasing comb, the user brushes the hair quickly from the ends of the hair toward the roots. Teasing adds an appearance of volume to the hair. Two types of teasing are commonly used. In regular teasing, the brush or teasing comb is applied to the top side of the subject""s hair. In xe2x80x9cFrench Lacexe2x80x9d teasing, the brush or teasing comb is applied to the underside of the subject""s hair. French Lace teasing results in the visible portion of the subject""s hair possessing a smooth appearance.
The styling brush is the critical tool in imparting an attractive appearance to the hair. The typical styling brush in use today consists of a straight, rigid spine between six inches and twelve inches in length. U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,823 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,158 disclose styling brushes which are typical of those in use today. The spine usually is constructed of a molded, plastic material, although it may be made from wood, insulated metal, or other material with similar rigidity and heat resistance. Approximately half of the spine is devoted to a handle with engages the hand of the user when employing the technique discussed above. The bristles which engage the hair are mounted on the remainder of the spine. The bristles typically are constructed from a flexible, heat resistant, plastic material.
The spine of the typical styling brush usually possesses either a general cylindrical or general hexahedral shape. Where the spine is generally cylindrical, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,620, bristles often are mounted on the entire circumference of the bristle portion of the spine. Where the spine is generally hexahedral, bristles often are mounted on only one side of the bristle portion of the spine. The bristle portion of this type of brush may also contain a lateral curvature to enhance the curling effect produced by the technique discussed above. U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,158 discloses a brush with a hexahedral spine and lateral curvature across the bristle portion of the spine.
Styling brushes in existence today possess several deficiencies. The first deficiency arises from the fact that the spine of the typical styling brush is straight, while the human head is curved. This makes it difficult to grasp the hair evenly, which in turn makes it difficult to achieve a result which evenly follows the shape of the subject""s head. This problem is magnified on those with shorter hairstyles. The second deficiency arises from the fact that the handle of the typical styling brush is straight and not contoured to fit the hand of the user. Long term use of this type of styling brush such as by a professional hairstylist can result in discomfort or injury to the user. A desirable styling brush will addresses these deficiencies, will be reasonable in cost, will be comprised of reliable materials, and will be available in a variety of sizes to meet the hairstyling needs of subjects of different size, age, or hair type.
The present invention is a styling brush which will address the deficiencies which exist in the prior art. The present invention begins with a spine constructed of a rigid heat-resistant plastic material. Other embodiments could use wood or insulated metal for the spine. The spine possesses a general hexahedral geometry. The spine possesses a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis. The longitudinal axis extends along the longest dimension of the hexahedron. The lateral axis extends along the next longest dimension of the hexahedron. The top side of the spine and the bottom side of the spine correspond to the planes which contain the longitudinal and lateral axes.
The spine is divided into two portions, each of which comprises approximately half of the length of the spine when measured along the longitudinal axis. The first portion of the spine comprises a head, and the second portion of the spine comprises a handle. A plurality of bristles are mounted on the top side of the head. The head possesses a curvature along the longitudinal axis, the curvature causing the top surface of the first portion of the spine to be convex in shape along the longitudinal axis and causing the bottom surface of the first portion of the spine to be concave in shape along the longitudinal axis. The head also possesses a curvature along the lateral axis.
The second portion of the spine comprises a handle. In one embodiment of the invention, the handle is curved in a direction opposite the curvature of the head, such that when considered together the head and handle form a general S-shaped curve.
Alternate embodiments of the invention may include a hand stop and a thumb rest near the junction of the head and the handle, ventilation holes through the head of the brush, and a side curvature in the handle.
The present invention possesses several advantages over the prior art styling brushes when used by those skilled in the art for hair styling or hair teasing.